TAPAH: More than 1,000 train passengers were stranded at several railway stations after a bomb scare which turned out to be a hoax.

All train services between here and Tanjung Malim were halted after police received an anonymous call claiming there was a bomb beneath a bridge along the railway tracks between Bidor and Tanjung Malim at 1.45am yesterday.

Some 700 passengers on the Senandung Langkawi (Hatyai to KL) and two ETS trains from Ipoh to Kuala Lumpur were stranded at the station here.

Two hundred passengers on the Ekspres Sinaran Mutiara (Butter­worth to KL Sentral) were stranded at the Kampar station while the rest were stranded at the Ipoh station while travelling on the Ekspres Rakyat from Butterworth to Singapore.

Tapah OCPD Supt Roslan Bek said two bomb squads sealed off the railway tracks between here and Tanjung Malim and started searching for the “bomb” at 3am.

“They searched beneath all 21 bridges along the 76km stretch and found a suspicious-looking hump under some stones at KM259.25 of the north-bound route, about 30km from the station here.

“It turned out to be a rolled up mat. There was no bomb,” Supt Roslan told reporters after calling off search operations shortly after noon.

Supt Roslan said the police would track down the caller as they had his phone number.

“We will charge him under Section 505(b) of the Penal Code for making statements with the intention of causing panic to the public,” he said.

KTM Bhd Ipoh-Tanjung Malim operating officer Fauzi Othman said train services resumed at 2pm for the ETS from Ipoh to Kuala Lumpur while an additional ETS train left Ipoh to Kuala Lumpur at 12.30pm.

“KTMB also arranged for 15 buses to take stranded passengers from here to Tanjung Malim to continue their journey to Kuala Lumpur by train,” he said.

He added that three taxis had also been arranged to transport passengers rushing to catch their flights in Kuala Lumpur.

Affected passengers who did not use the train services could ask for a full refund within a week, he said.

KTMB president Dr Aminuddin Adnan said the service was suspended on the advice of the police.

TRANSIT Says:

What a strange story. We certainly are glad that this was not a serious incident but we are still disturbed that someone would think that this kind of a hoax was entertainment.

Other than that, we will have to wait and see if there is more information about the report.